Stacey Abrams and Lara Hodgson on Starting and Scaling a Small Business
Women at Work
English - February 21, 2022 14:00 - 40 minutes - 37.7 MB - ★★★★★ - 1.3K ratingsCareers Business News Business News gender women hbr equality progress human resources workplace harvard Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Entrepreneurs Stacey Abrams and Lara Hodgson share hard-won lessons from starting and running three companies together. They reflect on what makes their long-term partnership work and how they manage self-doubt and guilt. They also give tips for networking, hiring and retaining employees, learning the ins and outs of finance, and developing an exit strategy.
Thinking about starting a small business? Or looking to expand a business you’ve already launched? Entrepreneurs Stacey Abrams and Lara Hodgson were blindsided by the cash-flow problems and other systemic issues they ran into when trying to scale a new but popular product. They don’t want you to be.
Stacey and Lara share hard-won lessons from starting and running three companies together: first a consultancy, then a manufacturer, and finally a fintech. They reflect on what made their long-term partnership work well and how they manage self-doubt and guilt. They also share tips for networking, hiring and retaining employees, learning the ins and outs of finance, and developing an exit strategy.
Guest experts:
Stacey Abrams is an entrepreneur, politician, and author. She co-wrote Level Up: Rise Above the Hidden Forces Holding Your Business Back.
Lara Hodgson is the co-founder, president, and CEO of Now, as well as the co-author of Level Up: Rise Above the Hidden Forces Holding Your Business Back.
Resources:
“The Trillion-Dollar Opportunity in Supporting Female Entrepreneurs,” by Shalini Unnikrishnan and Roy Hanna
“Black Women Are More Likely to Start a Business than White Men,” by Donna Kelley et al.
“How to Make Venture Capital Accessible for Black Founders: An Entrepreneur’s Dilemma,” from Cold Call
“Case Study: A Founder Steps Back from Her Start-Up,” by David R. Dixon
“The Different Reasons Men and Women Leave Their Successful Startups,” by Rachida Justo
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